Utility companies throughout the Carolinas are at the ready. And more reinforcements are on the way.

Duke Energy is beefing up its presence with an additional 1,400 storm responders headed to the region.

Advertisement

The workers, mainly from the company’s Florida operations and neighboring utilities in that state, expect to be needed as a winter storm is forecasted to bring snow, sleet and freezing rain to North Carolina and South Carolina.

Duke Energy already has 3,200 line workers in the Carolinas.

"They're a really hearty bunch," says spokesman Ryan Mosier. "And they really love what they do. Their mission is to get the lights on and keep them on for not just folks that are customers but for them as well."

Laurens Electric Cooperative serves nearly 55,000 members throughout the Upstate. And spokesman Jim Donahoo says LEC has been working year-round to give utility lines a clear path through the trees.

"We are constantly monitoring our substations and thousands of miles of our lines," he says.

Duke Energy will deploy crews as outages occur. It will continue to work to secure additional resources with neighboring utilities, many of whom are watching and preparing for the same winter storm.